Several states still in play to legalize marijuana through legislatures

Several states still in play to legalize marijuana through legislatures

                                                                                                                                                 By Jeff Smith, Legal & Regulatory Reporter

More than a half-dozen states remain in play to potentially legalize medical or recreational marijuana through their legislatures this year, with much of the activity focused along the East Coast.

Hundreds of millions of dollars in business opportunities would be generated from the new programs, depending on which state legislatures vote to legalize medical or adult-use marijuana.

Karen O’Keefe, state policies director at the Washington DC-based Marijuana Policy Project, said there’s a strong chance that Rhode Island will pass a recreational marijuana bill, and South Carolina a medical marijuana measure.

Recreational marijuana legalization in Delaware and MMJ bills in Kansas and North Carolina are given medium-to-strong odds by industry experts, while Minnesota, New Hampshire and Pennsylvania are worth monitoring for possible progress in legalizing recreational marijuana.

“High drama” already has occurred in Delaware, noted Jax James, state policy manager for DC-based NORML.

There, a recreational marijuana measure failed by only two votes in the state House of Representatives. The measure required a supermajority for passage because of the bill’s tax provisions.

But activists continue to fight “tooth and nail” to get a measure through this year, James said.

House Democrat Ed Osienski revived efforts in Delaware by filing two separate bills: one that would legalize marijuana possession and a second that would establish a regulated market.

The first is considered to have a good chance to pass and then it might be a question of whether lawmakers want to legalize marijuana without collecting tax revenue through a regulated market, according to James.

Just down the coast in Maryland, lawmakers referred recreational marijuana to the voters in November through a ballot initiative, although voter approval would be just the first step in implementing any program.

Lawmakers would then need to work out details such as licensing and taxation.

In Ohio, lawmakers have until late May to decide whether to place a citizen-initiated recreational marijuana referendum on the November ballot.

Most experts believe they won’t act, which would then require a citizen group, Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol, to collect another 132,877 verified signatures to get the measure on the fall ballot.

As expected, Mississippi lawmakers earlier this year legalized medical marijuana after the state Supreme Court there voided a voter-approved referendum.

The program, which will be relatively restrictive, could launch by the end of the year.